Jonathan Kennedy Rout

Our beloved husband and father Jonathan Kennedy Rout left us shortly after celebrating his 86th birthday. He is deeply missed by his wife Katharina and his sons Shaughan and Johannes, son-in-law Keith and granddaughter Clea, extended family in New Zealand, Australia and Germany, and the many dear friends who enriched his life.

After the tragic early death of his son Adrian, Jonathan found peace and renewed joy through practicing meditation and embracing kindness as his lodestar. He marvelled at the miracle of life, treasured the gift of attention, and wanted each person he encountered to feel truly seen. Caring, compassionate, and humble, Jonathan passionately loved his family and lived with lightness, gentleness, and a fine sense of humour.

Jonathan had many gifts and worked in some fifty different jobs. Above all, he loved the arts and taught music, drama, photography, and English in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada before working as a silversmith in his later years. He played the piano, directed choirs and community orchestras, composed music for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, directed and performed in stage plays, studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Hollywood, enrolled in Creative Writing and wrote fiction, essays, and poetry, and got certified as an arc and a TIG welder to work on metal sculptures. Always keen to expand his horizon, he learned to build fine furniture, thrilled his family and friends with culinary treats from exquisite French pastry to elegant chocolates, and was equally adept at plumbing or wiring or sheep shearing.

Having travelled widely, Jonathan was a citizen of the world with a strong sense of our interconnectedness and responsibility to each other. At the same time, he loved his home on Vancouver Island, whose beauty reminded him of his native New Zealand and where he delighted in sharing his space with fellow living creatures from pet chickens to deer and dragonflies. He loved the outdoors, was an avid sailor, and almost to his last days played golf with his friends.

Jonathan was a happy man, courageous, curious, appreciative and grateful, deeply loved and loving. He will continue to live in our hearts and inspire us.

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Donations in Jonathan’s memory to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) would be greatly appreciated.

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